Off Topic

Treasure Beach Forum: TB Runnin's: Off Topic
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By TB.Net on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 06:58 pm: Edit Post

Once again, this should be posted in another topic, so I have taken the liberty of opening a new topic and moving the messages.

It is not about hitting a nerve, but about keeping to one topic in a particular thread.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ONE LOVE on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 12:36 pm: Edit Post

THANKS A MILLION TB.NET. WE SHOULD NOT ABUSE SOMETHING THATS GOOD. IF WE DONT KNOW WHERE TO PLACE A TOPIC, LETS NOT TRY TO. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! TO REBECCA, ERIC AND EVERYONE THAT CREATED THIS WEB SITE. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'M NOT BEING RUDE TO ANYONE, BUT THATS A FACT
ONE LOVE


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Canada 2 on Monday, December 31, 2007 - 09:36 pm: Edit Post

TB Net It seems I hit a nerve,If I do please let me know, thank you.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By FED-UP on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 02:36 pm: Edit Post

CANADA 2 NO ONE WAS TALKING ANYTHING ABOUT BLACK OR WHITE ON THIS TOPIC SO READ BEFORE YOU START THROWING RACE AROUND.
ONE MORE THING FORGET ABOUT THE RACE CARD BECAUSE JAMAICAS' MOTTO IS (OUT OF MANY ONE PEOPLE) WHICH MEANS ENGLISH/ AFRICAN/CHINEESE GERMANS/SPANISH/SCOTTISH/IRISH/INDIANS/ AND ON AND ON.
LIVE GOOD AMONG EACH OTHER FOR THE TURMOIL THAT IS GOING ON ALL OVER THE WORLD TODAY PRETTY SOON NO ONE WILL BE ON THIS EARTH TO "HATE AND FIGHT" AGAINST EACH OTHER. I'M JAMAICAN WHITE IF YOU WANT TO CALL ME THAT,I CALL MYSELF JAMAICAN, AND I MARRY A BLACK JAMAICAN WHOSE PARENTS WERE OF TWO DIFFERENT ANCESTORS BACK GROUND AND EVERYONE IN JAMAICA KNOWS THAT IS HOW IT IS THERE. STOP THE NONENSE. I WILL POST AN ARTICLE LATER ON TO TRY TO EDUCATE SOME OF THE MOST UNFORTUNATE ONES THAT DO NOT KNOW THE HISTORY OF THEIR COUNTRY "JAMAICA".
PEACE AND LOVE TO ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN OUR BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF JAMAICA.....AND LET US KEEP IT THAT WAY FOREVER.




Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Canada 2 on Monday, December 31, 2007 - 09:30 pm: Edit Post

Hay TB.Net you're "entile to your opinion".I am entile to mine my message is what is what is, Happy New Year.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Canada 2 on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 08:33 pm: Edit Post

Hi fed up I said nothing about race or colour on this site.If you do not understand what you read ask someone who does.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Proud Jamaican on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 01:23 pm: Edit Post

We are all Jamaicans, not White Jamaicans, Black Jamaicans, Chinese Jamaicans. The following document was just sent to me on the subject of Jamaicans.
'Out of many one people'
by George Graham

Foreigners are often startled when they hear me talk. The unmistakable lilt brands me as Jamaican, but my appearance does not fit their racial profile.

'Where are you from?' is nearly always followed by, 'You don't look Jamaican.'

So what does a Jamaican look like?

True, most Jamaicans have dark brown complexions, a combination of a West African heritage and the island's sunny climate. That brings us to one myth: people with dark skins tan, just like people with lighter pigmentation. You should see how much paler some of my friends became after living in Toronto for a while.

Historians tell us many Jamaicans are from such tribes as the Ashanti, the proudest and fiercest of West African warriors. It stands to reason that prisoners of war would make up a large part of the captives shipped in chains to work on Jamaican sugar plantations. It was customary for prisoners captured during battle to be enslaved. The Egyptians did it to the Jews, the Romans did it to other people all over Europe; and somewhere in the world someone is probably practicing the same heinousform of human exploitation right now. We just don't hear about it.

Many owners of Jamaica's estates were not Jamaican but British - absentee landlords. They spent part of the year on the island, but their homes and hearts were back in England or Scotland. In the days of the tall ships, a journey across the Atlantic would take months, and a land owner would be reluctant to spend all that time getting to Jamaica only to turn around and sail right back. They would spend months in Jamaica before heading home. Men being what they are (most of us, anyway); some of these landowners would establish second families in Jamaica. Their mates were invariably slaves.

To protect their children from being sold into slavery, they would declare them legally 'white' - hence the expression 'white-by-law'. Landowners could count on their offspring to protect their interests in Jamaica while they were back in Britain.

That would account for at least some of today's 'Jamaican white' islanders. Others, of course, are descended from colonial civil servants who came to Jamaica and founded families there. A few came from America and other countries as clergymen, missionaries or businessmen - or for some other reason.

A significant part of Jamaica's heritage is Jewish. Sephardic Jews fled from Spain and Portugal to escape the Inquisition, and remained in the island after the British drove out the Spanish in the mid-1600s. You can see this heritage in many Jamaican surnames. One of my great-grandmothers was a Miss Salomon, a distinctly Jewish name.

With the abolition of slavery in the 1800s, large numbers of indentured servants came from India, with a sprinkling from Ireland and other parts of the British Isles. Traders from China, Lebanon and Syria (and from other countries) also migrated to Jamaica in search of business opportunities.

It's no wonder that when Jamaica achieved independence in August 1962, our leaders chose as our motto: 'Out of Many One People.'

On this, the 45th anniversary of Jamaican Independence, I would like to propose that we declare the existence of a Jamaican race. Not black. Not white. Not Asian or Middle Eastern. But simply Jamaican.

My late mother had blonde hair and blue eyes. My cousin, Kathleen, has tawny skin and black hair. Her father, a distinguished schoolteacher, had chocolate-colored skin. His ancestors were from West Africa. It would be preposterous for me to think I belong to a different race from Kathleen or her children and grandchildren. They are my flesh-and-blood.

Another cousin's married name is Chin. Is her daughter Chinese? Of course not. Her daughter is an American of Jamaican descent.

Yes, Jamaican. We are a race apart.

We might look European or African, Chinese or Indian, Jewish or Syrian, but make no mistake: we are Jamaican. We share the indomitable pride, the intolerance of injustice, the irrepressible spirit that distinguishes Jamaicans wherever in the world our destiny sends us.

My Jamaican brothers and sisters, I embrace you on this, the month of our Independence, whether your skin is the darkest dark or the lightest light, whether your eyes are blue or green, brown or black, whatever your facial or physical features might be. We know what it is to be Jamaican. And it has nothing to do with the color of our skin.

[George Graham is a Jamaican-born journalist and author who has worked as a reporter in the Caribbean and North America for more than half a century. He lives in Lakeland, Florida. His new book, 'Hill-an'-Gully Rider' is available at:


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fisherman's Friend on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 06:06 am: Edit Post

Canada 2 I am intrigued by the word “entile” please enlighten me as to the meaning of this word. And could you please give me your rational for your original posting as I am at a loss it seems out of context with the other postings. Thanking you in advance.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Canada 2 on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 08:42 pm: Edit Post

Hi fed up what difference does it makes where our ancestor came from, the colour blood is the same.I am sure all Jamaican did history in school they are quite Educated thank for the offer


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michelle on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 06:49 am: Edit Post

Well Said TB.Net. Canada 2, There is a time and place for everything. Your comment was extremely off the mark. It seems petty to be making smug comments of such when people are trying to trace their backgrounds. Its almost as if it was intended to stir up trouble. No one is denying the hardship of our ancestors and its important for us all to embrace that. However, out of all their fighting and sacrifices we achieved our motto 'OUT OF MANY ONE PEOPLE'. Therefore, let us all acknowledge that this means we should live as 'ONE', and be as happy as they wanted us to be.

I am Black.I was born in Jamaica, and I can say to you that History taught us alot including the fact that not all 'WHITE PEOPLE' were bad, and not all 'BLACK PEOPLE' were good. It is bound to touch a nerve to think about what our ancesters went through but let us not lose sight of what they fought ot achieve.

Like you said, 'you are entitled to your opinion'. No one can tell you to change your point, but sometimes we need to remember that not every opinions should be voiced. Personally, with no offense intended, I think you should dig a little deeper into history and I can assure you that you may even ammend your opinion. Still, like I said before, there is a time and a place for eveything.

TB.Net, thank you for all your hard work and efforts to maintain this site so that we can stay in touch with what's going on at home. I must especially commend you for rising above this comment which was thrown at you, by continuing to post our messages. I am sure that I speak for many when I say, WELL DONE! and thanks again.

From: Michelle in London


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Passerby on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 09:58 am: Edit Post

Canada 2 maybe needs to spell check or re-read-enough of this. Spend more time developing your spelling and writing skills would make more sense to me.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Canada 2 on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 09:00 pm: Edit Post

Hey you all"Freedom" is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cece on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 11:20 am: Edit Post

We are the Human Race and are all God's children.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fairly on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 10:56 pm: Edit Post

Pardon my ignorance, but there is no such thing as white Jamaican or Black Jamaican, Chinese Jamaican, etc. We are all Jamaicans regardless of our skin color. Remember, we are all one, "out of many......". And please let us stop the war about color and start the New Year in peace and harmony.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By TBNet on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 01:52 pm: Edit Post

At the risk of doing exactly what we asked everyone not to do, we would like to go 'off topic' to make a point. Over the past years, TB.Net has been accused of censoring the site unjustly. We have approved all the above messages to show an example of what can happen within a thread. The original thread about Jamaican links with Scotland was very positive, informative and interesting. It was beneficial and allowed persons to share and exchange information. This is exactly what we want to see happen on this site and exactly what we had envisioned when creating this site. Positive vibes for a positive community.

When we saw the posting which started this maelstrom, due to experience, we knew it would cause just that, a maelstrom. So we had to ask ourselves a question: Do we approve it knowing it will anger and hurt some, knowing it negatively affects the positive vibes of the thread so far? Or do we not post it and then be accused of unjust censorship, favoritism, prejudice, etc.

Eric and I (Rebecca) will sometimes exchange several emails on the pros and cons of approving a message as we know the fallout that message will create. We do not like being put in this position and it is the least liked part of running this site for both of us. Often we ask the opinion of our Jamaican friends to make sure we are not interpreting something incorrectly. We've even had times where we thought a message was fine, to find out there was a hidden meaning or something within the message that was hurtful to someone else and we have had to go back and delete it. This is the very reason for the photo gallery to now be censored as photos were put up once which were very hurtful to someone. We didn't know until after the photos were posted. This is not the goal of this site!

Now back to this very thread, if we didn't post the message which started this maelstrom, we would have made one person upset as he/she feels their opinion should be heard. By posting it, many are now upset by this person's opinion and the original thread's integrity has been damaged. This is bad for TB.Net and its readers.

In this new year starting let us all think hard on the power of the written word. Let us remember folks of all ages and backgrounds are reading this site. And let us never forget the goal of this site is to promote positive vibes for this wonderful community we all love. We implore all of you, before you send your message, read it again. Is it a message which is supportive and/or informative? Or is it a message pointing a finger at someone or their opinion. There is no problem with having a different opinion and expressing it in a positive way. Often, someone has sent a message with very good and interesting points in it, but one line will say something derogatory or points a finger, i.e. "Jon Doe you are wrong and stupid and . . . .' The rest of the message may go on to explain their opinion but because they started the message with a negative statement, the message will not be approved. We've also had great messages which we've needed to delete because of one word which is considered to be an inappropriate word. So again, read your message over and make sure it complies with the guidelines. If messages continue to come in which we know will cause hurtful feelings and are bound to create negative vibes, we will be forced to delete them.

TB.Net has become an integral part of Treasure Beach life and for that we all should be very proud. When hurricanes pass, what would we do without the information this site can pass on to everyone? We are kept informed of the daily 'happenings' of the area. We share information with folks who wish to visit our part of the world. I just love hearing from TB folks living abroad who say they check in almost daily to see what is happening back home. I just love hearing from visitors who say they had been following TB.Net for a long time and it was this that made them decide to come here. We live in a very special community within a very special country. Let us all working together do what we can to promote and preserve the positive vibes of this community in this upcoming year of 2008.

We sincerely thank all of you for your staunch support over the years and we look forward to your continued support. We encourage and ask you to let us know of ways we can improve this site and to continue to show the world how special Treasure Beach is.

Wishing everyone a prosperous and healthy new year.

-TB.Net (Rebecca and Eric)